Cisco Shreds 'Net Neutrality'

American Technology Research analyst Albert Lin warned in a research note last year that "a delicate and dangerous battle between carriers and major Internet companies will emerge as technology and regulatory rules allow those that own transport networks to begin to prioritize packets for some and 'derate' packets for others."

Since then, the technology has emerged, and now with the FCC's unanimous AT&T/BellSouth merger vote, the regulations seem firmly in the gray.

That's all good news for gearmakers such as Cisco, which aim to please.

"Using the network as a flexible platform to integrate IronPort's technologies," Cisco network security chief Dick Palmer said in a press release Thursday, "Cisco will be able to build new security applications as customers' demands evolve."